The red crept up under the tan on Vasco's face; he had been ounplayed. `It's my foreman--he ain't usually careless,' he said. `Hi, Pawley!'
A tall, lean rider came out of the bushes, a somewhat sheepish expression on his craggy countenance; no man likes being caught in an undignified position. Sudden noted the long nose, high cheek-bones, and steady eyes; they told him something.
`Meet two o' the Shadow Valley boys,' Vasco said, and looked a question. Sudden supplied their names, and the foreman shook hands.
`You got a keen eye, Mister,' he complimented.
`Mostly guess-work,' Sudden replied. `I figured yore boss wouldn't tackle two armed strangers 'less he had help handy.'
`Huh! You don't know him,' Pawley grunted. `Takes too many damn chances.' Then he grinned. `We Texans do git around, don't we?'
Sudden returned the grin. `Brother, yu said it; we follow the longhorns.'
`When you've finished slammin' me an' swappin' childhood memories, Pawley, you might as well hear the news,' Vasco chimed in.
The foreman's face lengthened as he listened. `Well, we're losin' 'em--a steady leak,' he admitted. `I'd say Green has the right notion--we gotta be shore. I've allus told you, Vic, that iron o' yores is a rank temptation-- Double M, Two Diamond; oh, hell it's as easy as turnin' over.'
`I put it on the first cow I ever owned,' the rancher said stubbornly.
`An' it'll go on the last if you ain't careful,' was the sardonic retort.
`Cheerful cuss, ain't he?' Vasco smiled. `Well, gents, I'm shorely obliged, an' I'll be pleased to see you any time.'
On their way home Yorky was silent for a while, and then, `Ain't you sort o' helpin' th' enemy, Jim?'
`I guess not. Look it over. If Bardoe is found to be robbin' other ranches, that's his finish. If it's owin' to us, Vasco, any- way, would be grateful; he's a straight man, if I'm any judge. Bet yu a dollar Nick'll be pleased.'
`Tiny sez betting is sinful 'less yo're certain o' winnin',' Yorky fenced. `Me, I'm aimin' to be good--this time.'
This decision was amply justified when they reported the day's happenings; Nick was patently delighted. `You done noble,' he said. Puttin' the Double V wise was one smart move, Jim, an' is goin' to help me a lot. I ain't met Vasco, but it's possible he's been misled.'
`By the way, Nick, not a whisper o' this to anyone--even Quilt,' Sudden warned. `If Bardoe gets wind of it, we're sunk.' `As you say, Jim, but I'd trust Quilt with all I got.'
`Mebbe, but a careless word could be enough for one who's waitin' to hear it. Better be safe than sorry.'
Drait nodded. `So Gilman is after the S P, an' lettin' Bull steal stock, at a price; I sorta suspicioned that. You didn't get to Cullin?'
`No, I reckoned we'd had all the luck due to us for one day.'
`He's a bad egg,' Drait went on. `The king-pin of what's wrong around here, I figure, but he's mighty careful not to show his hand.'
Chapter VI
IN an early morning drive, the cattle purchased from the S P had been brought to Shadow Valley, and by the end of the day, bearing the brand of the new owner, were turned loose; they could not get out, for the exit at the upper end had been blocked by a solid wall of stone. Drait smacked the last bawling victim of the iron on the rump as it lumbered past, and grinned at his perspiring crew.
`Good goin', boys,' he complimented. `Thanks.' And because he had himself worked as hard as any this brief approval satisfied them. Pie tonight, if them dried apple-rings came with the other stuff I ordered.'
`They shore did,' Long told him. `An' I hope Lindy had made a-plenty.'
`You should worry,' his brother said. `She allus counts you as three, anyways.'
Yelling like madmen they raced for the bunkhouse and first use of the towel. Sudden and the nester followed more soberly. `Glad that's done,' the former remarked. `But I ain't altogether easy.'
`I'm suspectin' a snag my own self,' Nick admitted.
At the bunkhouse door they parted; the uproar within told that the food was not yet on the table. At the house, Drait, having made himself presentable, went into the parlour, where his wife was awaiting him. Her smile was a surprise.
`A tiring day, but I can see, a satisfactory one,' she said.
`I'll have to be careful,' he replied. `A face that tells tales is a considerable drawback in these parts. Brandin' is hard work, but when it's yore own beasts it lightens the job. I've got a hundred head carryin' my iron, an' that's a good foundation for a herd' He lifted his shoulders.
`You think the ranchers may interfere?'
`Interfere is good.' His grin revealed the strong white teeth and she noticed--not for the first time--the difference his infrequent smile made. `Oh, I guess they'll try again. Does that scare you?'
She shook her head. `I'm gettin' fond of this place,' she said, and there was warmth in voice and look. `That's fine; any time you feel different, just mention it.'
She was disappointed. Again the thought came that he had divined her desire to enslave and punish him. So far, his response had been entirely negative. It annoyed, but did not decrease her determination.
`What for sort of a burg is Rideout?' Sudden enquired of Drait early on the next day.
`Bigger edition o' Midway, with a branch railroad throwed in. Wanta pay her a visit?'
`If yu ain't anythin' special for me an' Yorky to do ...'
`Help yoreself, Jim; we're all likely to be lazy for a day or so now the brandin's done.'
The news of the projected trip brought a solemn warning from Smoky: `It's the gosh-dangest town in the State,' he said. `Cowboys is the natural prey o' the varmints what live there. First they take yore guns, an' then the rest.'
`When they've got my guns they'll be needin' the rest.' Sudden laughed. `An' Yorky ain't so Sunday-school as he might appear.' He looked round. `C'mon, son. Two breakfasts is aplenty; we ain't goin' to a famine-struck land.'
The first few miles were traversed in a silence which Yorky forbore to break.
`I've been holdin' out on yu,' the puncher said at length. `It ain't accident that we're in this part o' the country. Fact is, Igot somethin' to do, an' I oughta told yu itcouldn't be just holiday.'
The boy's eyes glistened. `But, Jim, that's th' best news yet,' he cried. `If you'll let me do somethin'.'
`Shucks, why d'yu s'pose I fetched yu?'
`Is Nick mixed up in it?'
`I dunno--yet. Meetin' him was just plain luck--I was needin' an excuse for stayin' in the district. Yu can add too that I like him, an' reckon he's bein' treated mighty mean.'
Yorky nodded sagely. `What we gotta do?'
`Discover the rightful owner o' the S P first off,' Sudden said. `That'll put Mister Gilman's li'l scheme in the discard, an' some other noses outa joint too, I wouldn't wonder.'
`In fact, we're goin' to make ourselves real unpop'lar, huh?' Yorky grinned. `Well, I don't give a damn.'
Rideout proved to be what they had been led to expect, a bigger and busier Midway, but equally sordid and unpleasing to the eye. They found an eating-house and devoured a meal which evoked a philosophic reflection from Yorky: `To 'preciate good cookin' you gotta get away from it.' As he paid the bill, Sudden asked a question.
`Seale, the lawyer? You'll see his shingle down to the deepo. Will you find him in? I dunno, but I'm damn shore you won't find him out--nobody's done that yet. He's cute, is the 'Weasel.''
They left the fellow still chuckling over his witticism, and went in search of its subject. The lawyer's office appeared to consist of one room over an empty shop, and was reached by a stairway at the side. Sudden rapped, and a squeaky voice invited them to enter. The Westerner has a happy knack in the matter of nick-names, and one glance at the receding forehead, long nose, pinched-in mouth, and small, suspicious eyes told the visitors that the man behind the desk in the centre of the room was he they had come to see. Soiled linen, and a shiny black coat which hung sack-fashion on the narrow shoulders only added to the rodent-like impression. The office itself was
